


Of Agents And Quartermasters

by sunaddicted



Series: 00q Daemons AU [3]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Mission Related, Switzerland, Tenderness, Winter Wonderland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26879056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunaddicted/pseuds/sunaddicted
Summary: “I hate everything about this”“I had no doubts about it”
Relationships: James Bond/Q
Series: 00q Daemons AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883956
Comments: 18
Kudos: 75





	Of Agents And Quartermasters

_ Of Agents and Quartermasters _

“I hate everything about this”

“I had no doubts about it”

Q huffed at James’ unnecessarily cheerful reply: he had absolutely meant every single word that he had let slip out of his mouth - there was nothing about the snowy slopes, glittering lights and mulled wine vapours that Q found even remotely enjoyable.

Celeste - sweet, cold-blooded Celeste, burrowed deep in a coil of his thick scarf - was very much of the same mind.

“You said we would need a hacker on site” James pointed out “If you had deemed me cut for the job, you wouldn’t be freezing your ass off in Switzerland” he was unable to keep from his voice the slight tinge of… disappointment: he could hack - not as gracefully and as subtly as Q could but he wasn’t completely helpless when it came to new technologies; most of the time he faked being illiterate when it came to such things because it was more convenient and efficient - faster.

And Q knew that perfectly well.

Which was why he reached down to grasp the other’s hand in his gloved one, wondering about how James could stand leaving his bare fingers prey to the cold “I’ll teach you finesse when we go back home” he promised, hoping to soothe James’ bruised ego a little; his partner's approach to hacking could be just as brutal and as impulsive as the one he took to missions - only that James didn’t know any other way to break past firewalls, whereas he could adapt to tricky missions to stay undetected.

Q’s refusal to let the agent go alone had been the byproduct of mere analysis, he hadn’t meant to hurt.

If the way James’ squeezed his hand back was anything to go by, he understood - though, that didn’t mean he would stop pouting about it from time to time.

Denebola loudly ruffled her feathers, puffing up even more on her perch on the agent’s shoulder “You could have stayed at the hotel” afterall, they were walking around more to blend in and do some superficial reconnaissance than for any other motive: James highly doubted that they would have needed Denebola’s sharp claws and beak to help them out in case they got themselves in a tight spot. Just like Celeste, his daemon wasn’t exactly made for colder climates, even if she was far more used to enduring temperatures outside of her comfort zones than the fire salamander was.

Denebola buried her beak in the puffed up feathers of her chest “It would have been unfair to Celeste” the other daemon couldn’t be away from Q without both of them being in excruciating amounts of pain and it just… it just didn’t seem  _ right _ to be able to stay in the hotel room, cozied up to the soft pillows on the bed while Celeste froze despite the thick and numerous layers Q had pulled on before leaving.

“Such a sweetheart”

“Shut up!” Denebola threateningly snapped her beak at James’ ear.

The little bickering didn’t even register with Q anymore, as used to it as he was by then.

“Go to the hotel” Celeste piped up, popping her head out of her hiding place - even if she instantly regretted it; the winter air in London hardly was warm but Zermatt’s was almost unbearable and she hated the idea of Denebola suffering the cold only because the other daemon wanted to be chivalrous - it wasn’t like her courtesy, no matter how sweet, would actually do anything to warm her up “I’m serious”

“It would be too conspicuous now” 

It was unfortunately true “Do you want to slip in my jacket?” James offered, this time no hint of teasing in his voice - only concern “Come on” he encouraged, hiding a smile in his scarf at her mutterings about how much of an undignified arrangement it was, even as she made herself comfortable in the inner pocket of his jacket, her feathery head the only visible part of her body once that he zipped himself back up.

Q wasn’t so subtle, he didn’t bother hiding his endeared smile as he himself stood closer to James to soak up the man’s warmth, his thumb rubbing against those knuckles swollen by fistfights “Let’s make another round and go back to the hotel, alright? We have seen everything we needed to” and if they needed to check something more closely, Q could easily hack the CCTV - it would be better, really: with the streets swollen with people trying to get warm after a day on the slopes, it was far too easy to miss details.

“Do you want hot chocolate? Mulled wine? Tea?”

“You know I don’t drink tea outside of England unless I have brewed it myself”

James buried a “Snob” into Q’s curls when he bent down to kiss the man’s temple “Have you ever had mulled wine?”

“No” Q admitted “It smells spicy”

“It is - not the burning spicy kind, though”

“If you buy it I’ll take a sip from you but I’m going to be safe and have a hot chocolate”

“Deal” James tugged Q close to a stand, freeing his fingers from the other’s hold only when it came to grabbing the styrofoam cup and pressing it into his partner’s hands “Careful, it’s hot” 

Q rolled his eyes “I know” but he still let the agent tug him to his side with an arm around his waist, seemingly unbothered by his bare palm coming in contact with the hot cup - or maybe deeming the slightly uncomfortable burning sensation worth it, so that he could keep his other hand free to grasp his clothed hip “If we weren’t on a mission, it wouldn’t be so bad for an holiday” he murmured after a sip of hot chocolate, the drink thick and sweet against his taste buds.

“I thought you hated this place?”

“I’m not a fan of the cold but the Christmass-y atmosphere is nice”

James didn’t particularly care for it - what he enjoyed of Zermatt were the sharp cold and the snow packed high; the crests of the mountains around the city and the bite of crisply clean air; the wooden stands and the scents of hearty food cooking. It didn’t mean that he didn’t equally like warmer destinations: after a life spent being flown from one side of the globe to the other, there weren’t any climates he particularly disliked - he felt comfortable in most places, provided that he had the right wardrobe for them “We could go somewhere similar at the end of the season, when it won’t be as cold” the snow would be terrible for skiing but James could deal with spending a whole holiday in the mountains walking, eating well and thoroughly taking advantage of a hotel’s spa.

“I would like that” Q would have loved any chance to spend some time with James without work being involved; sure, when James wasn’t around the world they managed to spend plenty of quality time together but Q still had to go in at work, he had to always be ready to be called in - no matter whether they were sleeping snuggled up together in bed or having sex in the bathtub; or having breakfast on the couch while catching up on the news; or enjoying the rare date night at a restaurant or at the movies.

Q loved his job -  _ their _ job.

That didn’t prevent Q from feeling like it was a rather cruel mistress sometimes.

James sat next to the younger man on a bench, swapping their cups so that Q could have a taste of the mulled wine “You look very pensive, all of a sudden”

“Just… I just realised that I really need a holiday”

“You deserve one”

He didn’t know why he needed the reassuring - why it made him feel better about his admission: he hadn’t taken a day off in months, let alone left MI6 for a proper holiday; on a rational level, Q  _ knew _ that he deserved every single one of the vacation days he had accumulated over his years of service but still… he couldn’t help feeling guilty at the idea of soaking up the sun on a tropical beach while his agents were out in the world, risking their lives without his guidance to make them feel a little safer.

Absentmindedly, he took a sip of the mulled wine, pursing his lips at the foreign rich taste that flooded his mouth in a rather unexpected way - it was spicy, alright.

“Pass?”

“I think I would like a lighter version”

James smiled, a tad mischievous “I think it tastes the best on your lips”

Q wasn’t so sure about that but he leaned into the kiss, soaking up the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> The end!!! Thank you for following me along this fluffy journey!


End file.
